A majority of Texas voters say that the state’s marijuana laws should be “less strict,” according to a new survey.
The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll that was released this month asked respondents about a variety of policy issues affecting the state and how they believe certain matters should be regulated compared to the status quo.
Asked about cannabis, 51 percent said that state laws should be less strict, versus 22 percent who said they should be more strict and 15 percent who said the rules should be left the same.
The results come as a bill to decriminalize marijuana is advancing in the Texas House of Representatives.
In the poll, more Texans agreed that marijuana laws should be less strict than those who said the same about abortion (47 percent), gambling (39 percent), voting requirements (32 percent) or firearms (16 percent).
Democrats were the most likely to favor fewer restrictions for cannabis, at 72 percent. That was followed by independents (47 percent) and Republicans (33 percent).
Republicans were the most evenly divided on the question, with 32 percent saying they think the laws should be more strict and 24 percent saying they should be kept the same.
While question of strictness doesn’t exactly correspond to specific policy preferences, the sentiment reflects a general interest in reform, as Texas currently just allows limited forms of cannabis oil for certain medical conditions but continues to more broadly criminalize people…
